Age of Peace
by SpookiBoogi
Summary: Spyro and Cynder have successfully saved the world from Malefor, and are hoping for the promised new age to arrive. But both must face the aftermath of war, from their friends and from themselves. When a remnant of Malefor's past emerges from the darkness, can the pair live through it, or will they succumb to the shadows themselves?
1. Chapter 1

Spyro dipped his paw into the water, which was glittering in the sunlight streaming through the Valley of Avalar. Watching the flow of the river, he noticed Cynder's face through its reflection, happy to simply watch him. Finally, they were at peace.

That mixed feeling of foreboding and fear had all but left as he and Cynder escaped from the wreckage from their battle with Malefor. The dragoness had woken him up and pulled him from the rubble. A blush crept across his muzzle as he remembered how close she had been to him then as they cleaned the dust off each other, though there hadn't been any intimacy in the moment, only relief that everything was finally over. That everything they had fought for was fine. That they were alive.

"What are you thinking about?" Cynder asked, shuffling over and pulling Spyro out of his reverie.

"Just… just about you." Cynder grinned, and placed her paw over his. "And how far we've come together. And him." He sighed, and the grip on his paw tightened. Those beautiful emerald eyes seemed like they were gazing right into his soul, and he let them. Cynder leant against him, and Spyro could feel his solemn mood dissipating by the second.

"We're okay now Spyro. Everything, the war, Malefor, even before then… it's all over now. We won. We've only got things to look forward to now, especially back in Warfang. The guardians will be happy to see us both."

"And Sparx." Spyro added, and he smiled as the dragoness let out a noise between displeasure and laughter.

"I was almost starting to miss him."

They lay there together, content in the silence and enjoying each other's company. Though Cynder's words had calmed him, it brought back a part of his memory he didn't want to acknowledge, as much as it pained him to do so.

Ignitus…

He had taken out his grief at the Burned Lands back then, attacking the grublins with a ferocity he didn't know he held inside of him. Even Cynder had looked worried. He heaved another sigh as he realized he _did_ actually have that anger inside him, and his memory flashed back to his fight with Gaul.

Cynder could feel Spyro's anxiousness, and nuzzled his cheek, trying to calm him, even though her own thoughts were in a dark place.

"Hunter should have sent his falcon by now. The guardians will be expecting us soon. We should probably go through the forbidden passage tomorrow morning. Imagine everyone's faces when they see us!" She said, nudging him with her paw. He looked up at her and made a weak attempt at a smile. Well at least that was something, but it wasn't quite enough. "Okay, new rule, purple boy. No moping until we get back to Warfang. Deal?" She nudged him again, and could hear the beginnings of laughter from Spyro, until they both started giggling helplessly. She could listen to that dragon laugh all day.

As Cynder got to her feet, she unfurled her wings, and Spyro's thoughts were back on to the dragoness. Her black scales glittered in the sunlight, and her proud, elegant figure invited him to fly with her. He was only too happy to oblige, and they both took off into the sky, leaving their past on the ground below.

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><p>Hunter's sharp sapphire eyes were trained on to the river, spear in one paw, posture as still as stone. A sharp splash could be heard, followed by a groan from a pale furred cheetah next to him as he put another fish into the basket at his feet.<p>

"Awh Hunter, how are you so good at this? I never catch anything! It's a curse, I tell you!"

"That's because, Thicket, you never have enough patience, and for hunting, it is vital. I tell you this every time you come out here with me, and you don't seem to have picked up on that yet." He patted his friend's shoulder with an obvious smirk, and Thicket moved away with a huff before giving a long-suffering groan then collapsing on the grass.

"It's totally not fair… Oh!" He pointed up in the air, and Hunter followed his paw and spotted the distant shape of two dragons circling in the air. "That's your two dragon friends right? I heard Chief Prowlus grumbling about it this morning."

"Yes, and I imagine the sooner Prowlus sees them leave the happier he shall be. Even with all they have done for us… Never mind." His brow furrowed and he turned back to Thicket. "Come on. Let's get back to the village - I believe Meadow will be back with herbs by now." The other cheetah pulled himself to his feet and picked up the basket before catching up to Hunter, who seemed deep in thought.

As the pair padded back along the river to the village, Hunter cast his mind back to when he had sought out Spyro and Cynder for the first time, and taken them back to his home in the hopes that his chief would overlook his rocky relationship with dragon kind for once. After all, one of them _was_ the purple dragon. Though, Cynder had already shown that she would be a great ally to Spyro, along with Sparx. Maybe he had been too optimistic this time round imagining that Prowlus would give the two a warm welcome. Someday, Hunter thought, annoyed, Prowlus might make more of an uneasy ally of dragons. He shook his head, laughing to himself. He wasn't sure there could be any more reason to do so now that Spyro and Cynder had successfully saved the world.

He looked up at the sky once more, and he could faintly see Spyro waving a wing back down at him. Who knew such small dragons could do such big things?

**AN: Welp, putting up my first ever story on here. Hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter, though it was more of a set up than anything else. Promise we'll get into the plot in the next couple of chapters. I can't say when I'll update next, because of Christmas and all, but hopefully I'll get another up this week.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the Legend of Spyro franchise, wish I did.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Second chapter! Consider it an early Christmas present, and hopefully not one of those that you only manage to be polite about in fear of offending the giver because it was totally the present you gave them last year.**

**And thank you SO MUCH for those reviews. I love you guys, I really do.**

As freeing as it felt to fly aimlessly through the valley, Spyro knew they both had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. When he caught a glimpse of Cynder further ahead, however, his sensible thoughts got pushed away and he sped up to join the black dragoness. She looked over her shoulder, saw Spyro, and grinned with a playful glint in her eyes. Folding her wings to make herself more streamlined, Cynder threw herself into a dive just as Spyro caught up, nearly catching him with her tail blade. He laughed and followed her down as she snapped her wings open only inches from the river.

Both of them came to rest by the side of the river, exhilarated from their flight.

"I wish we could just stay like this forever, you know?" Spyro said breathlessly, and Cynder laughed in agreement before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know… But we should get back to the village, I saw Hunter going back with the others so they must have gotten enough food. I hope so anyway, I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too." Cynder giggled as his stomach rumbled in agreement. They got up and began their journey back, and both walked slowly, not quite wanting to end their alone time just yet.

Avalar really was beautiful, Spyro thought, gazing around at the lush green expanse that surrounded the two. Only broken by the trees, flowers, and the clusters of spirit gems, it was a place that promised peace and calm to all those who sought it. Cynder spotted his faraway look, and smiled as the dragon stopped, admiring the view.

"What?" Spyro asked, returning her smile. "Oh!" He picked up the pace again to join her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's been so long," Cynder said softly. "I haven't seen you look this peaceful for a long time, if at all. It's a new look for you. I like it." Spyro gave a huff of laughter and the pair carried on towards the cheetah village, the two laughing at the other as the smell of cooking food made its way towards them, their stomachs growling in response.

"Come on. We don't want to keep them waiting." Spyro said. Cynder nodded in agreement and the pair took off once more, their wing tips almost touching as they glided down towards the promise of food.

Later, two dragons and three cheetahs were huddled over the dwindling fire as the orange of the evening painted itself across the sky. Thicket was busy entertaining the group, but Spyro could see Hunter's mind was elsewhere. Hunter seemed to bring himself out of his thoughts when he felt Spyro watching, and he grinned as he noticed Cynder had her wing draped over the purple dragon's back, their paws intertwined.

"I'm afraid I must bring this conversation to a close. We must focus on the day ahead." Hunter said, as Thicket brought himself into hysterics with yet another terrible joke while Meadow shook his head. Spyro sighed, and he could feel Cynder tense slightly next to him. Their free time had definitely been brought to a close. He couldn't feel too unhappy about it, though. Spyro had known all the time they had journeyed back here that their return was waiting.

"We will go through the forbidden passage as dawn rises. My falcon has returned, so the guardians must be anxious for your return. It is best not to keep them waiting, I feel." Hunter continued.

"What… what did you put in your message, Hunter? Did you tell them anything else?" Spyro asked. Meadow and Thicket looked curious, while Cynder and Hunter gave him a look of understanding. There was one piece of news he wanted to say face to face. A letter would just be too blunt.

"I simply informed them of your return. I did not include anything that I thought you would rather say yourself." Hunter replied, and shushed the other two cheetahs when they tried to question the topic. Spyro shook his head, feeling guilty that he had only informed Hunter about Ignitus, and as the other two had not seen his and Cynder's flight off into the belt of fire, they had no reason to question the lack of presence from the guardian.

"It's fine, Hunter. I'll tell them." Spyro said quietly. He felt Cynder's grip on his paw tighten in support, but no matter how hard the dragon tried to tell the cheetahs, his words were lodged in his throat.

"Spyro, it's okay to leave it, Hunter can explain later." Cynder whispered, her voice filling with sorrow. "Right, Hunter?" She looked at him as he nodded.

"Well, you young lovebirds had better go rest up, yeah?" Thicket announced, trying to lighten the mood again. Everyone agreed, and went their separate ways as Cynder guided Spyro away.

Night soon arrived. Under the cover from the outstretched branches of a tree, two dragons were huddled next to each other. At first glance they looked to be asleep. Both were only pretending, and aware that the other was doing the same, but didn't question it. Neither of them got much sleep.

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><p>In the grey light of dawn, Hunter was waiting for them next to the entrance of the forbidden passage, alert even at this early hour. Spyro and Cynder were much less so, but Hunter made no remark as he led them both through the shadowy entrance. Their pace was slow, and after a while the silence was beginning to feel suffocating for Spyro, so he decided to speak up.<p>

"This is taking much longer to get through than last time." He sighed, and Cynder huffed in agreement, a shadowy curl of smoke merging with the darkness.

"We were in much more of a hurry back then," Hunter looked back at them both, smiling. "Though, it would help if we picked up the pace a little. I forgot how confining this place feels." The two dragons did pick up the pace, but only a little and they all fell silent once more.

After a while, Cynder nudged him in the side.

"Hey, look Spyro, there's the exit." Spyro peered into the shadows ahead. Like Cynder said, he could make out a small speck of light that was growing bigger by the second. But there was something familiar about that glow.

"Wait a minute… that isn't the exit, it's-"

"Spyro, buddy! Man, is it good to see you!" The glow came towards the three of them and the shape of Sparx became clear. The dragonfly rushed towards his brother and he hugged him on the muzzle. "Mmm mn mm mn!"

"Can't hear you, Sparx." Spyro grinned. Sparx peeled himself off his muzzle and grinned. He turned to Cynder.

"See, even when I'm not next to you guys I still manage to save the day." Cynder raised a scaly eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, and how is that Sparx?" Both Spyro and Hunter looked at him curiously.

"I asked Cynder to look after you, remember? She totally would've forgotten if I hadn't made her promise." Sparx said with a smug look on his little face, chest puffed out proudly. All three laughed, and the dragonfly couldn't hide his offended expression as they started walking again.

"So you came out here alone?" Spyro asked him.

"Nah, came with the guardians. They're waiting on the other side, so I came ahead by myself." Sparx replied. "Speaking of… where's Ignitus?" He saw the look of his three companions simultaneously drop, and again Spyro couldn't get his words out.

"We'll tell you when we're all gathered." Cynder said in the purple dragons place. Sparx knew already, but for once held his tongue.

It didn't take the four much longer to get to the entrance, and all were glad that they were out of the passage - especially with the warm sun that now greeted them. Along with that, three familiar tall figures were stood waiting, just as Sparx had said. Volteer was the first to speak.

"Oh this is delightful, amazing, astounding-"

"_Volteer! _Now is _not_ the time." The pompous tone of the ice guardian cut him off.

"Oh, Cyril, this is exactly the moment. Are you not pleased to see our friends alive?" Volteer snapped back. Fortunately, before they all had to suffer through the pair's bickering, Terrador stepped in.

"Will you two be quiet? We must get them inside before a crowd develops. These two have some explaining to do, I'm sure." He said, and looked down at group. His expression creased ever so slightly, and Spyro knew with a sinking feeling in his stomach that the earth guardian was thinking about Ignitus. "Come, the main hall is not far from here."

Spyro tried to push back the feelings that had welled up inside him, trying to focus instead on Warfang. Much of this part of the city was still in a state of ruin, though all the fires had long since been extinguished. In some places he spotted groups of moles making preparations for repairs along with a small number of dragons, some of which he recognized from when he and Cynder had arrived for the very first time. However, Terrador was leading them further away from the worst hit areas, and towards one of the biggest buildings in Warfang. The main hall itself had tall windows with beautiful stained glass depicting the ancient dragons, some with colours he realized that were not glass at all, but made from spirit gems.

Before his thoughts could sink back fully to recent events, Terrador swung open the huge doors of the main hall and waited for the group to move through before pushing them shut, the noise echoing throughout the room. They didn't stay in the reception room for long though, as the guardians took them through a maze of corridors and stairs.

"This is our quarters. We should be left alone here." Terrador said. He turned to face Hunter and the two young dragons. "Spyro, Cynder… it is good to see you alive and well. But I am afraid festivities will have to wait until later. There is much to discuss." His voice felt like it swept over Spyro, putting him at ease even though he knew he had to speak. Terrador and the others sat down on the many cushions that were spread around the room, and Hunter followed suit. Spyro and Cynder sat close with Sparx resting against the purple dragon's foreleg. A tiny blush crept across his muzzle as he felt the older dragons gaze on the two of them, all with a small smile on their faces.

"So, young dragons, is Ignitus…?" Cyril spoke quietly, leaving the question hanging. Spyro had the idea that Cyril knew but couldn't say it. He knew the feeling.

But this time, his words didn't stick in his throat.

"When we flew off to the belt of fire… Ignitus tried to protect us from the heat. But… but he couldn't deep it up, a-and," Spyro took a breath, trying to steady himself, and he felt Cynder's wing on his back. "He sacrificed himself so we could go on." He looked down at his paws. The weight on his mind had lessened a little, it felt freeing to say it out loud for the first time, as horrible as it was. A little like opening a floodgate, Spyro couldn't stop himself from telling the guardians the rest along with Cynder, and all listened silently to their tale.

"I cannot believe that Ignitus has passed…" Volteer said quietly, his usual energy gone. Cyril shook his head.

"There is little use dwelling on it. Ignitus passed honourably, and it would be an insult to his sacrifice if we could not move on." The ice dragon said, and again Spyro felt like a little more weight had been lifted from his mind.

"Cyril is right. We must focus on the positives. These two young dragons have saved the world from Malefor's destructive grasp and we must be thankful. I think you two deserve a rest." Terrador gave a small smile to them both. "But before that…"

"There's always _something_." Sparx muttered, and he gave a tiny yelp as Cynder glared at him.

"Cynder, you mentioned that in the burned lands Spyro was… out of control?" The black dragoness nodded as the earth guardian turned to her. Spyro felt his heart tighten. "Was that the first time this has happened?"

"It… it wasn't. I never got time to explain." Spyro felt like he was shrinking under Terrador's gaze, and though he knew there was only kindness there he was ashamed only of himself. "Back in the Well of Souls, when I was fighting Gaul, I fell into some kind of dark energy, and something felt like it took control of my whole being. It was only because of Cynder and Sparx that I managed to snap out of it. But not before killing Gaul…" Spyro finished, still looking firmly at his paws.

Terrador nodded, and all the guardians shared a serious look that Spyro grew fearful of.

"So, what is this power that Spyro spoke of?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, why did Spyro turn into a shadowy berserker- mnf!" Sparx asked, before cutting himself off with a dramatic sweep of his hand when he caught everyone's glare.

"That, young dragon," Cyril said, "is the power of convexity. It is as strong as it is barbaric. Malefor possessed the same power." Spyro remembered their fight with him, and the strange element that looked like concentrated darkness. He expression turned dark at the thought of wielding the same power as that monster of a dragon. Terrador caught his look.

"Do not fear Spyro. Remember that you share the same abilities as Malefor did, and that it is not the element that is evil. Only the dragon who uses it can decide that. And as we have all seen, you are a good dragon."

_But I'm not. _ Spyro wanted to say. He remembered back at the belt of fire. He had almost not been able to gain back control, maybe he would have hurt Cynder. And what if his friends were gone and he was alone? If he turned dark again, would he be able to stop himself?

That night when the reunion had finished and the group had been shown to their rooms, Spyro and Cynder left a loudly snoring Sparx in on a pile of cushions and had flown to the roof of their new home.

Spyro watched Cynder as she settled down next to him, the moonlight glinting off her dark scales. It gave her an almost ethereal glow, and reminded him of how elegant she truly was. They leaned together, Cynder turning to nuzzle his cheek. All thoughts, convexity, Ignitus… they all left him, and the two dragons stayed up on their post long into the night, watching the moon make its way across the sky.


End file.
